Police were thanked yesterday for protecting bystanders by putting barriers around the Tai Po Wishing Tree just hours before its main branch collapsed, injuring two people.
District councillor Cheung Kwok-yiu said police had spotted the danger two days before the branch of the old banyan collapsed on February 12, under the weight of oranges and written wishes placed on it.
'I would like to thank the police for encircling the Wishing Tree with fences before the accident happened, otherwise the number of injured victims would certainly have been more than two,' Mr Cheung said at a meeting of Tai Po District Council.
A police spokeswoman said officers had inspected the tree in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po, on February 9 and believed there was a danger the laden main branch could fall. They placed fences around the tree on the morning of February 12.
The 8-metre main branch of the tree snapped off at about 3pm the same day, injuring a 62-year-old man and a four-year-old boy .
Before attending the council meeting yesterday, a group of Lam Tsuen villagers and legislators from the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong submitted a petition to Home Affairs Department district officer Charles Chan. They urged the government to protect the Wishing Tree, while generating earnings by promoting it as a tourist spot.
